In this picture taken on Thursday, Dec. 8, 2011, Pakistani truck drivers drink tea next to their trucks carrying supplies for NATO forces as they wait for border to open at a terminal in Chaman, Pakistan. Pakistan closed its two Afghan crossings in Chaman and Torkham, in the northwest Khyber tribal area, almost immediately after NATO aircraft attacked two army posts along the border before dawn on Nov. 26. The supply lines account for 40 percent of the fuel, clothes, vehicles and other “non lethal” supplies for the Afghan war. (AP Photo/Shah Khalid)

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Voicing cautious optimism, the top NATO commander in Afghanistan said Tuesday that he’s seeing some signs of a possible lifting of Pakistan’s communications blackout imposed on the U.S.-led coalition after NATO airstrikes killed two dozen Pakistani forces last month.

Marine Gen. John Allen revealed for the first time that he spoke on the phone Monday with Pakistan army chief Gen. Ashfaq Pervez Kayani — their first conversation since the airstrikes — and that they both expressed a commitment to work through the incident and try to restore coordination between their forces along the border.

“I do have a sense of progress,” Allen told reporters at a news briefing at Camp Eggers in Kabul, describing the phone call as businesslike and cordial. “The conversation was clearly about attempting to resolve the issue … around the border incident, in the sense that, lets restore border coordination so that we can move on.”

He added that he believes Pakistan will soon send its liaison officers, who were Login to read more